{Dear Baby} Thirteen.

Dear Baby,

In case you didn't know, we've had a ball of a time this month.

You are more expressive now and with the increase in your vocabulary, well sort of, it's so much easier to communicate with you nowadays.
You laugh, A LOT.
And give us cheeky smiles. Really cheeky ones.
But that also meant that you are starting to get into bigger temper tantrums.

*

You request to be seated with us at the dining table during (our) dinner. Some days you drag the high chair to indicate you preference to sit on it. Most of the time you will smack your lips and try to get us to allow you to snack, but on days when it's only Daddy having dinner, you are satisfied sitting on the high chair at the dining table with him, reading your book.

You love to read lately!
(But you are less enthusiastic in putting the toys and books away, unlike the past months. Are you at the "tossing" stage?)

You babble a lot recently and these are some of your first spoken words.

papa   (really sweetly) for daddy
popo   for maternal grandma
mama   for mummy, the sweetest sound I hear each morning
gonggong   for maternal grandpa, you take a lot of effort to pronounce this
nainai   for paternal grandma
jiejie   for elder sister
gor gor   for elder brother
ah gong   for grandpa. You'll usually go "ah gong" when you see anyone of grandpa age
ah ma   for grandma. You'll usually go "ah ma" when you see any old ladies
yiyi   for aunty. I just discovered this but any young lady is called yiyi.

You can't quite pronounce jiu jiu yet so you chose to call him gorgor for now.

burbur  bubbles
golgol doll doll
nana/banana (on good days) banana
dup drop
na you meant take
ches cheers

You tend to look intently at our mouths when we are saying a certain word you are interested in and we know you are learning.

So somehow this book became "ugh ugh, guh guh..."

because...

and this colouring book is called "kuh kuh kuh" because I accidentally went "C... kuh kuh, kuh-lock"

Animals are your favourite and you get really excited seeing them. So we have been looking out for cats and birds on our way out.
You are able to identify some of the animals now.
You point to them when we call out the names of the animals.
For some, you know their respective sounds and how they move around.

cat meow
dog wu-oh
cow moo
bird "bor", kroo kroo
sheep ba ba
ladybug
lion
flower
rabbit *sniff sniff*, hops
fish 
elephant ngggg, followed by arms pretending to be an elephant's trunk. You also know that they stomp and you will mimic.

You are also able to identify body parts.
Hair
Hands
Legs
Eyes
Nose (you can identify everyone else's nose but somehow when it comes to yours, it's always the ears.)
Ears
Belly button FAVOURITE!

And you are learning to say these words.
hair
arm (your favourite so far)
no(se)


That's a lot going on in one month, isn't it?
But that's not all.

You know how to give us facial expressions on cue.
Happy face -- big cheeky smile (works even during mid-cries sometimes)
Angry face -- okay, this one is funny. It's either the angry pout, or you grit your teeth. Makes us laugh all the time
Sad face -- you don't do this well all the time but when you do, it's that doe-eyed, little pout, and you hang your head. This gets me all the time.

We just learnt the crying face today and it's hilarious.

And you are really expressive, remember?
You squeal when you are excited.
Like when we put on the shoes for you, or when you get to take on seat on your own on the bus or train (and not on our lap). Or when you spot belly buttons.

Your widest smiles take place when you poo in the potty and you see the poop. Like that's the best thing in the world. or maybe because "potty is happy".

We haven't been going to that many exciting places this month, but we did check out the Christmas decor at the airport. And you love the nutcrackers. And that dress.

Momma noticed how tall you have grown now. Such a big girl already. I'm looking forward to all the new things you will learn, and the fun we will have with you as a "new toddler". Love you so much!

Edit:

How can I forget this? You love pretend play. You pretend to yawn. You pretend to feed us food and your stuff toys drinks. And you pat your stuff toys to sleep. I love it. 

Smooches and cuddles,

Mommy